1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for removing an image recording material in order to feed image recording materials to a subsequent process. The removing device has a cassette which accommodates image recording materials, in which an image recording surface is provided on a support, and interleaf sheets, which are thin-film-like and which protect the image recording surface, in a state in which the image recording materials and the interleaf sheets are alternately stacked. The interleaf sheets which are accommodated in the cassette are discarded.
2. Description of the Related Art
A technique (printing plate exposure device) has come to be developed which, by using an image recording material (printing plate) in which an image recording surface (photosensitive layer) is provided on a support, records an image directly by a laser beam or the like onto an emulsion surface which serves as the photosensitive layer of the printing plate. With such a technique, it is possible to quickly record an image onto a printing plate.
In an automatic printing plate exposure device using a technique of recording an image onto a printing plate, the printing plates are removed one-by-one (separated/removed) from a cassette in which a plurality of the printing plates are stacked, and are fed to an exposure section.
Here, when the printing plates are stacked in the cassette, in order to prevent the emulsion surfaces thereof from being scratched, interleaf sheets, which are thin-film-like protective sheets, are inserted between the printing plates. Thus, within the cassette, the printing plates and the interleaf sheets are stacked alternately.
The interleaf sheet has the important function of protecting, in particular, the emulsion surface of the printing plate. However, the interleaf sheet is not needed during exposure in the exposure section. Therefore, the interleaf sheet must be taken off of the printing plate by the time the printing plate is removed from the cassette and reaches the exposure section.
Further, the printing plates are separated/removed from the cassette by using suction cups. Because it is easy for the emulsion surface of the printing plate to be scratched, when the printing plate is separated/removed from the cassette by using suction cups or the like, the printing plates are accommodated in the cassette with the reverse surfaces thereof facing upward, and are taken out by the suction cups being made to directly contact the reverse surfaces. On the other hand, when it is presumed that the emulsion surface faces upward in the exposure section, it is necessary to provide a mechanism which inverts by 180xc2x0 the printing plate which has been taken out from the cassette.
Further, when the printing plate is removed from the cassette, the material which exists next as the uppermost layer in the cassette is an interleaf sheet. The interleaf sheet must be removed by a different mechanism, and via a different path. The current situation is that the printing plates and the interleaf sheets are separated/removed separately from the cassette.
In this way, there are various restrictions on conventional removing devices which convey printing plates from the cassette to the exposure section, such as the removing device must be disposed above the reverse surface of the printing plate in order to protect the emulsion surface, and the interleaf sheet must be removed from the cassette by a separate mechanism, and the like. A complex structure is therefore needed.
In view of the aforementioned, an object of the present invention is to provide a device for removing an image recording material which, without dividing the functions of removing image recording materials and removing interleaf sheets, and without scratching the image recording surfaces of the image recording materials, can convey only the image recording materials to a subsequent process.
The present invention is an image recording material removing device which feeds an image recording material out to a subsequent process from a cassette which accommodates, in an alternately stacked state, image recording materials, in each of which an image recording surface is provided on a support, and interleaf sheets, each of which is thin-film-like and protects the image recording surface. The image recording material removing device comprises a take-out device, a conveying device, a peeling device, and an interleaf sheet discarding device. The take-out device simultaneously takes out from the cassette a pair of the image recording material and the interleaf sheet in a state in which the interleaf sheet is superposed on top of the image recording material. The conveying device conveys the image recording material and the interleaf sheet, which have been taken out by the take-out device, along a predetermined conveying path to the subsequent process. The peeling device peels the interleaf sheet from the image recording material while the interleaf sheet and the image recording material, which have been simultaneously taken-out, are in the midst of being conveyed along the conveying path to the subsequent process by the conveying device. The interleaf sheet discarding device discards the interleaf sheet, which has been peeled off, along a path which is different from the conveying path to the subsequent process.
In accordance with the present invention, the take-out device simultaneously takes out an interleaf sheet and an image recording material from the cassette in which the interleaf sheets and the image recording materials are alternately stacked with the respective interleaf sheets on top of the respective image recording materials (or with the respective image recording materials on top of the respective interleaf sheets). Namely, the image recording material and the interleaf sheet are taken out as a pair from the cassette.
The conveying device conveys the image recording material and the interleaf sheet, which have been taken-out simultaneously, in a state in which the two are superposed. Along the conveying path, the interleaf sheet is peeled off from the image recording material by the peeling device. Only the image recording material is fed out to the subsequent process, and the interleaf sheet is discarded by the interleaf sheet discarding device.
In this way, by simultaneously taking out the image recording material and the interleaf sheet from the cassette, a single mechanism for taking out suffices, and the structure can be made more simple. Further, by taking the image recording material and the interleaf sheet out simultaneously, the period of time over which the image recording surface is protected can be lengthened.
In the present invention, the take-out device may have a suction cup which simultaneously sucks the interleaf sheet and the image recording material, and a moving device which makes the suction cup approach and move away from the cassette.
In the case of such a structure, although it depends on the properties of the interleaf sheet, the suction cup is pressed against the interleaf sheet from the obverse surface thereof and sucks the interleaf sheet. In this way, the interleaf sheet and the image recording material which is the next layer (the layer immediately beneath the interleaf sheet) can be taken-out simultaneously. At this time, there are cases in which the interleaf sheet and the image recording material which are further beneath stick, due to static electricity, to the image recording material which is to be taken out. However, for example, the interleaf sheet and the image recording material which are sticking can be separated by a separating plate from the image recording material which is to be taken out.
Regardless of whether or not the take-up device is structured as per the above-described specific example thereof, there are cases in the present invention in which the image recording material, which was accommodated in the cassette with the image recording surface facing upward and which has been taken out by the take-out device, is conveyed to the subsequent process by the conveying device in a state in which the orientation of the image recording material is maintained.
In this case, when the image recording material and the interleaf sheet are taken-out simultaneously, because the interleaf sheet is the uppermost layer, even if the top surface is sucked by a suction cup or the like, the image recording surface is not scratched. Note that, when the interleaf sheet which is the topmost layer is sucked by a suction cup, the image recording material which is beneath the interleaf sheet can be sucked simultaneously due to the properties of the interleaf sheet.
Because the image recording surface can be set facing upward, it is advantageous in cases in which, for example, the image recording material is to be processed in the subsequent process with its image recording surface facing upward.
Regardless of whether or not the take-up device is structured as per the above-described specific example thereof, there are cases in the present invention in which the image recording material, which was accommodated in the cassette with the image recording surface facing downward and which has been taken out by the take-out device, is conveyed to the subsequent process by the conveying device in a state in which the orientation of the image recording material is inverted.
In this case, an existing removing device has a mechanism for inverting the image recording material removed from a cassette. Therefore, when used in such a device, the image recording material is set with its reverse surface facing upward as in the conventional art. In such cases as well, the image recording material is taken-out with an interleaf sheet, with which the image recording material was alternately stacked within the cassette, being disposed on top of the image recording material. Namely, the image recording material is taken out in a state in which the interleaf sheet exists at the reverse surface of the image recording material which is stacked together with the interleaf sheet. However, in the midst of being conveyed along the conveying path (which includes the inverting mechanism), the interleaf sheet is peeled off and is discarded. Therefore, a mechanism for removing the interleaf sheet, which is used in existing devices, can be eliminated.
In the present invention, in any of the above-described cases, due to the peeling device separating the interleaf sheet from the image recording material by suction force by air, the interleaf sheet is peeled off from the image recording material.
In this case, air due to by driving of a fan or the like is utilized as the peeling device. Because the interleaf sheet is thin-film-like, by setting the fan to oppose the interleaf sheet and by sucking the interleaf sheet up by the fan, the interleaf sheet can easily be peeled off from the image recording material.
In this case, after the interleaf sheet has been sucked up by the fan (i.e., has been peeled off), the interleaf sheet is nipped by a pair of rollers or the like which serves as the interleaf sheet discarding device, and is discarded. Therefore, the force of the fan, which sucks the interleaf sheet up, alone is impetus for peeling of the interleaf sheet off from the image recording material.